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Comcast CEO Unimpressed By 'Quadruple Play'
Despite spending millions on a plan to offer it
Comcast CEO Brian Roberts isn't exactly thrilled with the idea of the "quadruple play," or bundling wireless phone service with VoIP, broadband and video services. That's probably not a good sign, after Comcast joined forces with Sprint, Cox, Time Warner Cable and Advance/Newhouse Communications to spend $2.4 billion on wireless spectrum -- enough to technically become the nation's fifth largest wireless phone provider -- in a plan to offer co-branded service. As we've noted, Comcast is engaged in wireless phone trials in Portland and Boston, and Roberts is curious to see how they're received -- but he says he doesn't expect much innovation on that front in 2007.
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moonpuppy (banned)
join:2000-08-21
Glen Burnie, MD

moonpuppy (banned)

Member

For once, he is right.......

Cell phone service has a high churn rate. People can switch on a whim and not have to worry about monopolies or duopolies. Not so with cable TV services.

Also, Comcast is not going to run a help desk just for the phone. Sprint will handle this and if you piss off a customer over his cell phone service, will he blame Comcast since they sold him the service? And, if a customer cancels the cell phone due to poor service, will that affect the pricing of the 3 other services involved?

Another thing to consider is the normal 2 year contracts for cell phones. Cable, DSL and DSS services are normally 1 year.

This could get interesting.
krayzie bone
join:2006-09-03
Marietta, GA

krayzie bone

Member

Re: For once, he is right.......

why anyone would sign up for quadruple play anyway is beyond me...It doesn't save you that much money (if any) and you get the same, crappy service from one provider. Yippee!

morbo
Complete Your Transaction
join:2002-01-22
00000

morbo

Member

Re: For once, he is right.......

plus a contract for all of them. boo.

XLIV
UFO
join:2003-02-24
Monroe, LA

XLIV to moonpuppy

Member

to moonpuppy
I wish they would spend 2.4 billion on docis upgrade or something in the speed catagory.

Trinijoy
Premium Member
join:2005-09-12
Brick, NJ

Trinijoy

Premium Member

YEAH!

I LOVE BLUNT CEO's.

You go boy!

RadioDoc

join:2000-05-11
La Grange, IL

1 recommendation

RadioDoc

Re: YEAH!

Indeed. Brian usually sounds like he's been smokin' a blunt...
LostMile
Premium Member
join:2002-06-07
Coloma, MI

1 recommendation

LostMile

Premium Member

Re: YEAH!

At least Brian's not trying to shove HDTV and Inet down a mile of twisted pair.

RadioDoc

join:2000-05-11
La Grange, IL

RadioDoc

Re: YEAH!

I wondered how you were doing over there. Nice to see you again.

Somehow you don't seem to get that shoving HDTV and Inet down a mile of twisted pair is as easy as shoving it down a mile of RG6, but hey, you don't really care about facts anyway.

Enjoy the mild winter.
fiberguy2
My views are my own.
Premium Member
join:2005-05-20

1 recommendation

fiberguy2

Premium Member

Re: YEAH!

said by RadioDoc:

Somehow you don't seem to get that shoving HDTV and Inet down a mile of twisted pair is as easy as shoving it down a mile of RG6, but hey, you don't really care about facts anyway.
So.. what ARE the facts?

First off.. they aren't shoving HDTV *AND* Internet down twisted pair.. they're shoving internet down twisted pairs and THEN shoving HDTV down that same stream.

Cable is 'shoving' multiple channels of HDTV on a pipe AND shoving Internet as well.

Shall we get into how many HDTVs on that twisted pair can actually view that stream on that twisted pair?

I have 6 HDTVs in my home... how many can I have with twisted pair.. and how many can I have with that last mile of RG6?

..but you really don't care about facts anyway.
LostMile
Premium Member
join:2002-06-07
Coloma, MI

LostMile to RadioDoc

Premium Member

to RadioDoc
said by RadioDoc:

I wondered how you were doing over there. Nice to see you again.
I'm doing fine. Thanks for asking. And you?
said by RadioDoc:

Somehow you don't seem to get that shoving HDTV and Inet down a mile of twisted pair is as easy as shoving it down a mile of RG6, but hey, you don't really care about facts anyway.
Like they say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

Comcast keeps increasing my Inet speed and channel lineup every year...even out here in rural backwater Coloma. Comcast advertises 8Mb yet lately I've been seeing 10-12 Mb. Damn coax!

OTOH, all I can get from AT&T's twisted phone system is ~40kb...and that's being generous. What ever happened to Eddie's magic DSL line extenders?

Since you say twisted pair and coax are equal, I can only conclude Team Comcast is a bit smarter than Team AT&T.
Expand your moderator at work
ke4pym
Premium Member
join:2004-07-24
Charlotte, NC

ke4pym to RadioDoc

Premium Member

to RadioDoc
said by RadioDoc:

down a mile of RG6, but hey, you don't really care about facts anyway.
Got news for you. But they're not shoving anything down a mile of RG6. Unless it is a mom-n-pop shop, they're using higher grade cable and RG6 from the curb to your home.

RadioDoc

join:2000-05-11
La Grange, IL

RadioDoc

Re: YEAH!

Come take a look at what Comcast is using in this system then...it's RG-6 with a messenger embedded. There's about 120 feet of it coiled up in the alley behind my office where it snapped in half two years ago. I had to get it out of the alley since Comcast couldn't be bothered to send someone out to clean it up. Even a tech who came by to disconnect a tap at the same pole didn't do anything about it despite me pointing it out to them. "We don't consider that a priority" were his exact words.

Was probably pissed that the last of eight customers on that tap had just gone to satellite...
mob (banned)
On the next level..
join:2000-10-07
San Jose, CA

mob (banned)

Member

I am unimpressed with Comcast

That is all.

dadkins
Can you do Blu?
MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA

dadkins

MVM

Well...

... so much for me getting a cell then.
Not that I actually have a use for a cell, but it would have been just tacked onto the Comcast bill.

Ah well.

Stefania
Jezu Chryste, Kubi
Premium Member
join:2003-03-17
Chicago, IL

Stefania

Premium Member

Re: Well...

You don't have a mobile? You do know this is 2007, right? ~_^

hayabusa3303
Over 200 mph
Premium Member
join:2005-06-29
Florence, SC

1 recommendation

hayabusa3303

Premium Member

Re: Well...

said by Stefania:

You don't have a mobile? You do know this is 2007, right? ~_^
I dont own one either your point?

dadkins
Can you do Blu?
MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA

1 recommendation

dadkins to Stefania

MVM

to Stefania
Don't go nowhere... and I already have a camera, I surf the web on laptops, don't have anyone to call anyways.

The cell from Comcast was mere;y so I could have yet another toy. Not because I need one.

Stefania
Jezu Chryste, Kubi
Premium Member
join:2003-03-17
Chicago, IL

Stefania

Premium Member

Re: Well...

"the web"?... sounds very lonely...

ninjatutle
Premium
join:2006-01-02
San Ramon, CA

ninjatutle

Member

Unimpressed by your employees...

Maybe if you offered more salary and benefits you would hire more desirable folks.
caco
Premium Member
join:2005-03-10
Whittier, AK

1 recommendation

caco

Premium Member

Re: Unimpressed by your employees...

free cable- discounted ppv and hd/dvrs boxes
free high speed
discounted phone service
401k match up to 6%-Fidelity
average health care cost for employees
ESPP at 15% discount
tons of vendor discounts for working for Comcast-Verizon,Sprint,Cingular,Apple,HP,Dell
64 hours of flex time during the year if not used they pay you for it
vacation days on par with other big companies
stock options depending on time with company
FanaticGamer
join:2006-10-16
Jacksonville, FL

FanaticGamer

Member

Re: Unimpressed by your employees...

*High Five to fellow employee JSRoman*

I actually love my job thank ya very much, and love the benefits of it....

On point: Actually I wouldn't be surprised if we did have some Inhouse Tech Support Training for the Sprint Cell Phones, I would be cool with learning it for sure. I can't speak for the test markets, but if it launches nationally, I suspect a Job Posting For CAEs in Wireless. Time will tell....
-FG

Sabre
Di relung hatiku bernyanyi bidadari
join:2005-05-17

Sabre

Member

Re: Unimpressed by your employees...

I'll third that. I don't work for Comcast anymore, but I left because I couldn't get the promotion I wanted in-house, not because of the benefits. Comcast's benefits, as outlined by JSRoman, are indeed excellent. For all their faults (and most every huge company does indeed have many faults), they're a good company to work for. Though I'm not sure how well cellphone service will fit them anyway.
Now if they were to look into Wimax integration, that might be interesting.

ninjatutle
Premium
join:2006-01-02
San Ramon, CA

ninjatutle

Member

I said desirable folks. Not just anybody

creativedog
Premium Member
join:2000-12-03
Richmond, VA

creativedog

Premium Member

and your point?

Nick Saban also said he wasn't leaving the Dolphins.
mrks
join:2005-07-12
Lowell, MA

mrks

Member

life @ Comcast

just left Comcast to work at Verizon, it's a much better gig

Packeteers
Premium Member
join:2005-06-18
Forest Hills, NY
Asus RT-AC3100
(Software) Asuswrt-Merlin

Packeteers

Premium Member

quad play for $100 would be worth it

depends on pricing. $100/month for phone, long distance, cableTV and broadband may not be worth it to many who only need 2 of those service, but if you throw in a celphone using the same long distance, and a reasonable minimum airtime minutes, for the same $100, then you have something even I would go for.
three6ohchri
join:2004-04-14
Portland, OR

1 edit

three6ohchri

Member

Re: quad play for $100 would be worth it

sheesh, you want a gold plated dvr while you're at it?? Free I'm sure too, huh? come on now... be realistic here... can you get all four services with any providers for that price? even mix and matching you wont find all 4 products for anywhere near $100. Also, Comcast doesn't require a contract for video, HSI, or CDV... Mobile access is the only thing with a contract.
u3912974
join:2007-07-31
San Francisco, CA

u3912974

Member

damn i'm ready

comcast bill $130 (trip play)
att wireless bill $125 (cingular 8525 with $40 talk, $40 ultd wireless and $10 TV)

I want comcast to offer a better phone deal for wireless